


Quiet Minds...changed

by Singstar234



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Emma daughter, Emma had twins, Episode Fix-it: s03e15 Quiet Minds, Episode: s03e15 Quiet Minds, Missing Year (Once Upon a Time), Neal daughter, Original Character(s), Other, Seer Powers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-24
Updated: 2020-03-24
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:07:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,740
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23298274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Singstar234/pseuds/Singstar234
Summary: What if Emma had twins in prison, a boy and a girl. After Emma gave birth Henry was adopted by Regina. Hope however hadn't been adopted yet. Social Services were able to get in contact with Neal and Neal took Hope in, aware that Henry had been adopted.This takes place during 'Quiet Minds' with them having a daughter in the show.
Relationships: Baelfire | Neal Cassidy & Emma Swan, Baelfire | Neal Cassidy & Henry Mills, Baelfire | Neal Cassidy & Original Character(s), Baelfire | Neal Cassidy/Emma Swan
Comments: 1
Kudos: 12





	Quiet Minds...changed

**Author's Note:**

> So this has been running through my mind for a few years now. What if Emma had twins in prison, and Neal was able to keep his daughter? This is my take on 'Quiet Minds' with their daughter in it.  
> Now in this story line their daughter, Hope, has Seer powers. But after Emma and her kids are sent over the town line away from the curse, Hope starts to get ill. This takes place just after Emma finds Neal in the hospital and their daughter is brought in. Everything else is explained during the story.  
> I hope you all enjoy!!
> 
> P.S. this was written a few years ago.

"But I'm their father. Emma-"

Neal was quickly interrupted by the hospital doors banging open. The pair looked over to see Dr Whale and a few other doctors and nurses all surrounding a bed as they wheel it into the room.

"What happened?" Whales asked urgently as he leaned over the bed.

"Found on the side of the road scream in pain. Complain of headaches. She got a nosebleed and temperature. Blood pressure is high." A nurse explain.

"It hurts!"

Emma's eyes widened at the sound of the voice filled with pain. She quickly pushed herself away from Neal's bed and rushed over to the other bed, Neal right behind her. When Emma approached the bed the person on it caused her to nearly scream.

"Hope!" Emma reached for her daughter but a nurse pulled her back.

"Ma'am, please step back." The nurse asked her. Emma quickly went to protest when a voice called to her.

"Mum?" Hope sound in a loud, painful voice. Emma quickly broke free from the nurse and rushed to Hope.

"I'm here baby, I'm right here." Emma said in a hushing tone, trying to keep Hope calm, but mostly herself.

"My head, my head's exploding." Hope whimpered as her hands went to her head. "Its to much. I keep seeing things. Too much. It hurts!"

Emma gave her daughter a confusing look. A hand came in contact with her shoulder. Emma turned to see Neal standing behind her looking as white as a ghost. Slowly Neal placed a hand on Hope's leg.

"Hope?" He said in a soft voice. Hope looked over to him with tears in her eyes from the pain. Her eyes looked right at him.

"You?" She said with confusion. Her parents looked at her with wonder. How could she recognise Neal?

As this happened Dr Whale took a syringe and pushed the needle into Hopes arm, injecting her with a liquid. Not even a few seconds later Hope's whimpers started to slow down and the girl went limb. Neal kept his eyes on the daughter he hadn't see for a year. Taking in every little detail of her that is different to when he had last seen her.

Emma approached Dr Whale. "What happened to her?"

"I'm not sure. Someone called it in when they found her on the side of the road bent over in pain. Saying that she was scream her head was exploding." Dr Whale explained. "Do you have any idea why she was out on the street?"

Emma shook her head. "I left her with Mary Margret and David when I came here. There's no reason as to why she should of been out there."

"Has anything like this happened before?" Dr Whale asked her.

"She's had nosebleeds and headaches before but nothing like this. I've taking her to doctors before and they never found anything. She's said her headaches were normally a 5 out of 10. Never had her crying in pain before." Emma explained.

"She's had these before?" Neal asked as he walked over to them. "When did they start?"

"Just under a year ago." Emma answered. Her eyes then widened while Neal's face darkened a little. Emma quickly turned back to Dr Whale.

"Could this be affected by her old memories?" Emma asked.

"Its possible, but I'm not magic expert. Maybe ask someone who is. In the mean time I want to run some tests on her. Even if it could be caused by magic, having these 2 symptoms plus a fever really isn't a good sign." Dr Whale told the parents. Emma quickly went and reached for Neal's hand, who gave her a small squeeze of reassurance. "But I promise, we are going to do everything we can for her."

Dr Whale nodded to the doctors and nurses surrounding the bed. Each one of them took hold of the bed and began to wheel it out of the room. Emma and Neal watched as their unconscious daughter rolled away on the hospital bed.

**XxxxxxX**

Emma walked back into the room and looked over to Neal. "I just got of the phone to Regina. She's on her way over here."

Neal only nodded as he went back to looking at Hope. Emma walked over and took a seat next to him. She placed a hand on his shoulder.

"She's going to be fine." Emma told him.

"She recognised me." Neal whispered. "How is that possible?"

"I don't know. Maybe Regina made a mistake when giving us our new memories." Emma suggested.

"I don't know whether to take it as a good sign or a bad." Neal said. Emma, unsure what to say to that decided to change the subject.

"You know she asked about you a lot." Emma told him. Neal turned and looked at Emma with a surprised look on his face.

"Really?" Emma nodded.

"When Regina gave us our new memories, they were so I told them both the truth about what happened between us." Emma explained. Neal nodded slowly, knowing how bad he must look in his kids eyes. "But Hope, she asked about you all the time. Saying how you might of changed and be a better person. All she ever wanted to hear about you was the good stuff."

"Really, like what?" Neal asked, sounding intrigued.

"What your favourite song was. Your favourite colour. Movies you liked to watch." Emma listed. "I told her how you taught me how to pick locks and the first thing she said was 'when I find dad I want him to teach me that.'"

"She really said that?" Neal said sounding bewildered. Emma nodded to him. Neal smiled as he looked back over to Hope.

"I could tell, even though she had never met you, she already loved you. Maybe deep down she already knew that she knew you." Emma suggested.

Neal continued to smile at his daughter while Emma placed a hand on his shoulder, her eyes also on Hope. The parents kept their eyes on her for a few more seconds a knock at the door broke their contact. Looking up they see Regina standing at the door.

"Hi, I hope I'm not interrupting anything." Regina said as she slowly walked into the room.

"No, nothing." Emma told her.

"So why'd you call me here? Sounded serious." Regina asked. Emma and Neal stood up and walked over to Regina so the trio were standing at the front of Hope's hospital bed.

"When you gave me, Henry and Hope new memories, is there any chance you made an error in so way?" Emma asked. Regina gave her a look of confusion.

"What do you mean?" Regina asked.

"Hope was brought in with a headache and nosebleed, which she started to get right after you were all send back to the Enchanted Forest. She also seemed to recognise Neal, we think." Emma explained. Regina looked shocked.

"That's not possible." Regina said with wide eyes.

"It is. She looked at me like she recognised me." Neal told her.

"That shouldn't be happening. Not unless she took a memory potion." Regina told them.

"Well she hasn't, not that we're aware of. So it has to be something else." Emma said.

"Like what?" Neal asked.

Before anyone answered a loud gasp was heard from the bed. Everyone looked over to see Hope sitting upright on the bed, her eyes closed.

"Hope." Emma said with shock. The trio rushed over to the bed. Neal on her right while Emma and Regina were on her left. Emma placed a comforting hand on her daughters arm while Neal placed his hand on leg. Just as they came in contact with their daughter, Hope's eyes shot open, showing only white. Everyone leaned back in shock.

"What the hell?" Regina said.

"Hope, Hope can you hear me?" Emma asked urgently as she once again placed a hand on Hope's top arm. "Hope, can you say something?

Neal looked at his daughter, trying to get around everything that was happened. Slowly he placed a hand on her shoulder. "Hope?" He whispered.

Then slowly Hope turned and faced her father, her face completely neutral. Neal kept his eyes on Hope while Emma and Regina looked between the pair. Hope then looked over to Emma and Regina, her face still neural, showing no signs of emotion.

"The person you all seek is closer than you realise." Hope said with no emotion. "He has the answers you all wonder. The answers you all wish to know. But the answers that will fill the gap, will only be shown when curse is broken."

"Hope, what do you mean?" Neal asked as he moved closer to his daughter.

"For she is to gather the 4 that will lead her to her victory, to change what once was." Hope continued.

"Hope, snap out of it." Emma said with a slight scare in her voice. Hope then turned to Neal.

"For the person who know the face of who you seek, will come when a life is given. A life for a life that has already been chosen."

Hope kept her eyes on Neal, who looked almost white. Then suddenly Hope's eyes shut and she went completely limb. Everyone quickly grabbed her and lowered her back onto the bed. Once she was laying back on the bed Regina took a step back while Neal and Emma gave each other a worried look.

"What the hell just happened?" Emma asked as she looked over to Regina.

"If you're asking me, Hope just went completely in Seer mode." Regina said as she gestured the unconscious girl on the bed.

"Seer mode, what are you talking about?" Neal asked.

"The only kind of person to talk like that is a Seer. I think she just gave us some sort of prophecy." Regina told the pair.

"A prophecy to who the Wicket Witch is?" Emma guessed.

"And to where Gold might be." Regina said.

"She said the person we seek is closer than we realise, so what could that mean exactly?" Neal asked.

"Maybe Gold is somewhere is town?" Emma suggested.

"But where though? Surely if he was in town he would of made an appearance by now." Regina said like it was obvious.

"Unless he can't." Neal pointed out.

"Okay, forgetting that what else did she say?" Regina asked the pair as she tried to remember herself.

"Umm, some about gathering 4 that will lead her to her victory?" Emma said with uncertainty.

"That would change what once was." Neal continued. "So, is this witch gathering people, ingredient.

"If she's gathering ingredients then we should put a protective spell on my vault and Gold's shop. Its the only places in town with magical remedies." Regina told the pair. "Okay, what else?"

"The she said: 'the person who know's the face we seek-' she must mean Gold." Emma said with certainty.

"'Will come when a life is given'" Regina continued.

"'A life for a life that has already been chosen.'" Emma finished. "So basically someone died to bring him back."

"That shouldn't of been possible. You can't bring someone back from the dead." Regina told her.

"Well someone obviously did, so?" Emma said waiting for Regina to answer. Regina let out a sigh.

"Maybe since he was the Dark One, it might of been possible. Someone giving their life up to bring him back. But maybe, I don't know." Regina told her.

"But everyone came back alive. Who could of done it?" Emma asked.

"I don't know, are all the dwarfs still alive?" Regina asked sarcastically.

"Regina." Emma said with annoyance.

"Sorry." Regina said as she took in a deep breath. "Right now we need to find Gold and figure out how to get our memories back. Then maybe someone will have answers for us."

As this happened Neal looked down at the burn mark on his hand. He began to run through everything Hope said during her little episode. And then began to put pieces together, as he thought back to the missing year.

He took out his phone and began to dial. "I'll be right back." As Neal began to leave the room Emma gave him a confused look.

"Where you going?" Emma asked.

"I've gotta make a call." Neal told her. Once he was out of the room he pressed dial on his phone and held it to his ear. After a few rings a female voice was heard.

"Hello?"

"Belle, it's Neal. Listen I need you to look through my father's shop, or the library for anything about the Dark One's history, the dagger, anything at all." Neal told her.

"Wow, wow, Neal slow down. What's going on?" Belle asked sounding worried.

"I'm not sure. But I've got a hunch. Just let me know when you find anything." Neal told her.

"Okay, I will." Belle told him.

"Thanks." He said before hanging up. He stared at his phone for a few seconds and then back at his hand. Even though he didn't want to admit it, he had a really bad feeling that he did something in the missing year. Something really stupid.

**XxxxxxxX**

Neal made his way back into Hope's room were only Emma was found. He carried 2 coffee cups in each hand. "Where's Regina?"

"Of hunting. See if she can find any leads on Gold or the Wicked Witch." Emma answered. Neal approached her and placed a coffee cup out in front of himself. Emma gave him a surprised look before taking it with a small smile. "Thanks."

"No problem. Sorry, they had no hot chocolate." Neal said as he took a seat next to her.

"Its the thought that counts." She told him. Neal gave her a small smile which Emma returned. "So who'd you call?"

"Belle." Neal answered as he took a sip of his coffee.

"What for?" Emma asked as she did the same.

"To do some digging in the library and my fathers shop for something." Neal told her. Emma raised a eyebrow.

"Digging for what exactly?" Just as Neal went to answer a small sound of movement came from the bed next to them. The pair looked over to see Hope slowly opening her eyes. Emma and Neal quickly leaned over to Hope, being careful not to scare her.

Once Hope's eyes were completely open she began to look around her surroundings. Once her eyes landed on Emma she looked confused. "Mum?"

Emma smiled. "Hi honey. Are you okay?" Hope continued to look confused.

"Where am I?" Hope asked. Emma quickly began to get nervous.

"What's the last thing you remember, baby?" Emma asked her.

"I was with Henry in our hotel room. And then I left." Hope answered.

"Why did you leave?" Emma asked. Hope began to think, looking unsure.

"I don't know. I can't remember." Hope told her.

"That's okay. What's important is that you're okay." Emma told her daughter and she moved some hair out of her face.

"What happened to me?" Hope asked.

"Someone found you on the street with a bad headache and you nose was bleeding." Emma explained.

"Again?" Hope said, sounding a little annoyed.

"You don't remember any of that?" Emma asked. Hope shook her head. It was then her eyes fell onto Neal. Neal looked nervous for a few seconds before giving Hope a warm smile.

"Hi."

"Hi." Hope replied. "Are you friends with mum?"

Neal tried his best to hide the disappointment on his face. He looked down as he ran a hand over his face.

"Yes, we're old friends." Emma told her. Hope gave Neal a curious look.

"Did you know my dad?" Hope asked. Neal's head snapped back up. He was quickly unsure of what to say. He looked over to Emma for help. Emma gave him a small nod. Neal smiled a little as he looked back to his daughter.

"Yeah, I knew your dad." Neal told her. "I knew him quite well actually." Hope slowly began to form a smile.

"What was he like? Mum doesn't talk about him a lot." Hope said as she looked over to her mum.

"I do when you ask about him." Emma pointed out.

"But you only tell me a little. Like when I asked you why did he teach you to pick locks. You just said because he picked a lot of locks when you were with him." Hope pointed out to her.

"Well you see the first time he started to teach her was right after he broke them into a-" Emma quickly gave Neal a 'I will kill you' look, so quickly changed the story, "her car."

"Her car?" Hope repeated. Neal nodded.

"They hadn't long met and Emma left her keys in the car so Neal broke into her car for her. She wanted to know how to pick locks for the future just in case it ever happened again." Neal shared with her. Hope had a big smile on her face as she heard the story.

"When I find my dad I'm gonna ask him to tech me how to pick locks. Mum won't let me." Hope said with annoyance.

"You know, if you wanted, I know how to pick locks." Hope's eyes lit up at this. "I could teach you if you'd like."

"Really?" Hope said with excitement. Neal nodded.

"Sure, I mean that's if your mum's okay with it." Neal and Hope looked over to Emma who was looking between them. She then realised where Hope got her puppy eyes from. Rolling her eyes in annoyance Emma stood up.

"You'll need to sit her to teach her." Neal and Hope both let out a small 'yes'. As Neal and Emma traded seats Neal mouthed a small 'thank you' to her. Emma nodded as the pair took their seats. Once sat down Neal took out a small padlock and 2 lock picks from his pocket.

"Since when do you carry a padlock and lock picks around in you pocket?" Emma asked out of curiosity. Neal turned to her.

"Everyone needs a hobby when they're bored." Neal answered. Emma let out a little laugh as Neal turned back to his daughter.

**XxxxxxxX**

"That's it. Now just keep on listening. You should be able to hear the tumblers as you move the pick." Neal said as he watch Hope try to attempt to pick the padlock. Hope kept her eyes completely focused on it, not taking a single bit of concentration anywhere else.

Emma watched the pair with a smile on her face. She never really got to see Hope and Neal act like a really father and daughter last year with everything that had happened. Its nice to have just a little bit of normality at this moment.

A small knock on the door caused the 2 adults to looked over, Hope however seemed to of not heard it. Dr Whale stood at the door, a blank professional look on his face. He gestured to the hallway with his head. Emma and Neal both shared a nod with one another.

"Hope, Neal and I just need to step out for a few moments. Okay?" Emma told her daughter. Hope didn't look up and kept her eyes on the lock.

"Okay." Hope simply answered. Emma and Neal stood up and made their way out of the room.

Once the pair were out of the room and far enough away from the door so Hope wouldn't hear them Dr Whale began to speak. "So we ran blood work on Hope along with getting a MRI scan." Dr Whale took a moment before speaking. "It's not good. Hope's got a brain tumour. Its located in the hippocampus part of her brain, and she's going to need surgery."

Emma stared at Dr Whale looking shock, almost unable to believe what she had just heard. Neal however covered his mouth with a hand while his other went to Emma's shoulders. Emma took one of her hands and placed it over Neal's. Neal took a few moments before looking back at Dr Whale.

"What exactly does it mean, the tumour being in the hippocampus?" Neal asked.

"The hippocampus is a part of the brain that stores our memories." Dr Whale explained.

"So by removing the tumour-" Emma began.

"There's the possibility of memory loss, I can't say for certain and I can't say how much." Dr Whale. "But we really need to get Hope into surgery, now."

Emma and Neal looked at one another. "Can we have a moment with Hope first? Explain what's going to happen." Emma asked. Dr Whale nodded.

"Sure. I'll get the OR prepped. Some nurses will be in shortly to get Hope ready.

"Thanks doc." The pair said. Dr Whale started to move down the hallway while Emma and Neal walked back into the room. Neal however quickly put a hand on Emma's shoulder, causing her to stop.

"Neal?" She questioned looking at him with confusion. Neal took a few seconds before talking.

"Maybe I should stay out here." Emma looked at him like he was crazy. "She doesn't know who I am Emma. Maybe it being just you and her will make it easier on her."

"Neal, seriously?" Emma said like he was out of his mind. "She may not remember you but you've already formed a connection with you. In her eyes, in this short period you're already family to her. She'll need both of us."

"You think?" Neal said second guessing himself.

"I know." Emma said with certainty. Neal took a breath before nodded.

"Alright. Let tell her." Emma and Neal headed into the room together.

As they approached the be Hope still didn't look up at them, her eyes still on the padlock in her hands that was still locked shut. Emma took a seat closer to her while Neal sat further away.

"Hey kid." Emma said as she and Neal sat down. "Still having trouble?"

"No, I've nearly got it." Hope told them. "I think." Emma and Neal smiled at her optimism.

Emma placed a hand on Hope's shoulder. "Can you put that down for a second? We need to talk."

Hope looked at her mum with confusion as she placed the padlock on the bed. "What's wrong?"

"Dr Whale got your results back. Unfortunately it isn't good." Emma told her. Hope began to look worried.

"What's wrong with me?" Hope asked sounding nervous.

"You have a tumour in your brain, baby." Emma said sadly.

"A tumour?" Hope repeated. Emma nodded. "Isn't that like one of those lumps people have in their brain?"

"Sort of, yeah." Emma answered.

"Can they take it out?" Hope asked.

"They're going to try. The doctors believe they're going to get it all out." Emma told her. Hope nodded but didn't say anything. Emma gave her a worried look. "Hope?"

"Am I going to die?" Hope whimpered. Emma felt her heart break. What do you say to a child that asks that question.

"No, no of course not." Neal interfered. Hope looked over to him, fear written on her face. "There's just something inside you that needs to be fixed. That's all."

"But what if they don't get it out?" Hope asked. Neal looked at his daughter, trying to think of something to help her. He looked at the padlock on her lap and came up with a idea.

"Passes the padlock." Neal said. Hope looked at the padlock and passed it over to Neal, who took it softly. "The tumour is like the tumblers inside this padlock." Neal took one of the lock picks and placed it into the key hole. "All they need to do is use their tools, place them in the right place, and then poof-" the lock opened, "the tumour is gone."

"But what if they keep on messing up like I did?" Hope asked. Neal gave her a small smirk.

"These guys are really good at what them do. Just like me, I've been picking locks for years, and no offence kid you not an expert yet." Neal told her in a jokey tone. Hope felt a small smile spread across her face. Neal passed the padlock over to Hope who took it gratefully. "You're going to be fine."

A knock at the door broke everyone's train of thoughts. A couple of nurses and Dr Whale all stood at the door. Dr Whale walked into the room. "Are we all ready?"

Hope gave her parents a nervous and unsure look. "You've got this." Emma told her. Hope nodded slowly. Emma then turned to Dr Whale, giving him the same nod.

"Alright. Let's get you in." Dr Whale said. He then turned to the nurses, gesturing them to come in. The nurses all came in and began to get Hope ready for the surgery.

After a few minutes the family found themselves walking down the hallway towards the operating room. Emma and Neal stood next to the bed holding onto the railings. Once they approached a set of double doors everyone stopped.

"This is as far as you can come unfortunately." Dr Whale told the pair. Emma took in a deep breath as she turned to her daughter, giving her kiss and cuddles.

"How long will the surgery last?" Neal asked.

"A few hours. We'll let you know if anything changes." Dr Whale told him. Neal nodded as he turned back to Emma who had just finished kiss Hope's forehead. Hope looked over to Neal and passed him the padlock. Neal took it from her and held it in his hands.

"Once your out I'll be sure you can open this up." Neal promised her. Hope smiled.

"You better." Hope warned him. Neal smiled back at her and have her a fist bump which she gladly returned.

She was then pushed through the double doors and away from her parents touch. Emma and Neal watched the doors for a few moments, trying to decide what their next move was going to be. Then suddenly by coincidence both Emma and Neal's phone's started ringing. The pair took out their phones and walked away from one another as they answered.

"Hello?" Neal answered.

"Neal I found something." It was Belle.

"Okay, what'd you fine?" Neal asked.

"I found a book in Rumple's shop, I've never seen it in here before." Belle said sounding surprised.

"Okay, what was in it?" Neal asked her.

"It talked about something called The Vault of the Dark Ones. Apparently its where the first Dark One was made." Belle explained.

"Okay." Neal said as he waited for her to continue.

"And then in the middle of the book there was a large hole in it. Like something was meant to be inside it." Belle told him. Neal's eyebrows knotted with confusion.

"Okay, any idea what?" Neal asked.

"The book talked about a key for the vault. Apparently when inserted into the vault it will activate the vault to restore the Dark One of the time." Belle said sounding excited.

"So if the key is missing," Neal began.

"Someone must of used it and brought back Rumple." Belle said with happiness.

"Yeah but who? And at what price? All magic comes with a price." Neal remind her.

"Yeah I know. I don't know who would bring him back. I'll see if there's anything else I can find that can be useful. I'll start to do some research on the vault." Belle told him.

"I'm gonna head back out there, see if I can find him." Neal said.

"Okay, by the way if you run into Regina can you show her some picture of what's in this book? Maybe she'll be able to make out some of what it mean." Belle asked.

"Sure, send the picture to my phone." Neal told her.

"I'll send them now." With that Belle hung up the phone. Neal took the phone away from his ear and made his way over to Emma, who had just gotten of the phone herself.

"Belle found some info about how my father might be alive. She's sending me some picture to show Regina is we run into her." Neal explained.

"I actually just got of the phone to her. She found the witches house but no one seemed to be home. I'm gonna head to forest when you father was last seen. Maybe he'll be in that area." Emma told him.

"I'll come with you." Neal said. Emma gave him a slightly worried look.

"You sure that's a good idea, with everything going on?" Emma asked as she looked at the double doors.

"If I don't come with you I'm just going to be sat in a waiting room wondering what's going on. But if I'm with you at least it takes my mind of it and also help find my father faster. Besides, the hospital will call us if there's any news." Neal reassured her. Emma nodded.

"Okay." Emma simply said. "Come on then. Sooner we're out there the better chance we have of finding him."

Just as Emma began to make her way down the hall Neal felt his phone vibrate in his hands. Neal looked down and saw that Belle had sent the pictures to his phone. Just as he went to open the pictures his phone started to ring. It was Belle.

"Neal?" Neal looked up and saw Emma standing a few feet away from him, looking confused. "You coming?"

"Just a second." Neal told her as he answered the phone. "Belle?"

"Neal, that symbol on your hand. Its from the key." Belle said urgently.

"Wait, what?"

"That symbol burned into you hand, its from the key that opens the vault to the Dark Ones." Belle explained to him. Neal then realised, his theory was right.

"So it was me that brought him back." He whispered. Emma looked at him with more confusion.

"There's more. Whoever uses the key to bring the Dark One back, Neal they pay with their life." Belle said with disbelief. Neal felt the colour drain from his face. Emma began to look more worried than confused when she saw the expression on Neal's face.

"Neal?" She said worryingly.

"We're coming to you." Neal told her before hanging up. As Neal took the phone from his ear Emma approached him looking nervous.

"Neal, what's going on?" She asked. Neal shook his head.

"We've gotta get to my fathers shop." He told her before rushing past her. Emma quickly followed his lead. Once they reach outside Neal looked round for a car. "Did you bring the bug?"

"No I left it at Mary Margret's." Emma answered. Emma pointed to the forest near them. "Cut through here. It will get us to town faster."

"Let's go." Neal said as he began to jog into the forest, Emma right behind him.

"Neal wait? What's going on? Did you find something?" Emma asked.

"Belle found out what the symbol on my hand means. Its from a key that opens the vault of the Dark One." Neal explained.

"Okay, what does that mean?" Emma asked, sounding confused.

"Back in the Enchanted Forest, I must of used the key to bring my father back. But in order for it to work the price was the person's life." Neal told her. Emma stopped running and froze in place.

"The person's life?" Emma said in disbelief. Neal stopped and turned to her. "But that mean-"

"I should be dead." Neal finished. Emma's eyes widened.

"'A life for a life that has already been chosen.' That's what Hope must of been trying to tell us." Emma said as she remembered what Hope had told them. "So she was right."

"Most of what seer's say is correct." Neal told her as he turned back round and began walking again. Emma quickly started following him.

"Did you know?"Emma asked him. Neal paused his movement but didn't make any sign of turning and facing her.

"I think so." Neal said quietly. He then slowly and faced her. "Everything Hope said, it all made sense to me in a way. I thought back, back to what I would of done back in the Enchanted Forest. I would of done anything to get back to you and Henry, and if anyone could get home to you, it would be my father."

Emma stared at Neal with shock. If this was all true, then he really could possibly die, and he did all of this just to get him back to her, Henry and Hope. Emma slowly took a step towards Neal when suddenly the tides turned.

Neal fell to the floor in a cry of pain. Emma rushed over to him and fell down next to him. She went to touch him when she suddenly pulled back, seeing Gold's face on Neal's body for a split second. Emma's eyes widened.

"I think," Emma said as she tried to get herself together in this moment, "I think Gold is inside of you. I think that's how your still alive."

"I can hear my father's voice in my head." Neal gasped as he held is head in his hands. "He's in there! He's in me!"

"He said there was no room. He meant you." Emma said as she realised what Gold had meant when she found him before. Neal quickly grabbed hold of Emma's shoulder, desperation on his face.

"I need you to help me, Emma." He said, his voice in both pain and desperate. "Use your magic. Separate me and my father."

Emma looked at him like he was crazy. "Are you kidding? You'll die!"

"Emma, you need my dad more than you need me." Neal gasped as he tried to get hold of the pain.

"Neal," Emma said trying to convince him otherwise but he quickly butted in.

"To find the witch. To save the town. You need to do this." Neal told her, being as serious as he could.

"I've never done anything like this before. Not this big." Emma warned him.

"Do it. To save you, to save Henry and Hope. Do it." He said almost out of breath. He could feel himself slowly fading away.

Emma, dreading having to do this, took hold of Neal's hand. Slowly she closed her eyes and focused on the magic inside her. She willed it to do as she pleased. She felt her magic spread from her body to Neal's. She could feel her magic being spread some more, into another. She willed for the bodies to separate. She focused on Neal, allowing her magic to do what he wanted. Separate from his father.

Suddenly a blast of magic power separated her from Neal, throwing the pair back. She looked up and saw Gold standing by her, a shocked expression on his face. She looked over to where Neal was and found him laying on the floor.

"Neal!" She cried out as she rushed over to him. "Are you okay?!"

"What have you done?!" Gold demanded, fear covering his voice. The pair got to Neal's side and helped him sit up slighting in Emma's arms.

"It's okay papa. I told her too." He panted.

"But why?" Gold ask with fear in his voice.

"So you could tell her, who the witch is. So you can defeat her." Neal told him.

Rumple suddenly looked angry, discus on his face. "Zelena." He spat. Emma whipped her head round to him.

"She's the Wicked Witch? What does she want?" Emma asked, sounding nervous.

"What she doesn't have." Rumple whispered. Emma looked down to Neal in her arms. She could feel her heart beating fast in her chest with worry. She then looked back to Gold.

"There has to be some way we can save him, right?" Emma suggested. Gold shook his head.

"It's to late Emma." Gold told her. Emma felt her heart break.

"Emma," Neal whispered. Emma looked back down to Neal.

"Neal, just hang in there, please." She pleaded to him, her voice breaking. "You never got the chance to see Henry, for him to remember you."

"It's okay." He told her. "He doesn't need to. He just needs to know that, in the end, I was a good father."

"What about Hope? She needs her dad." Emma said as s tear fell from her eyes. Neal gave her a weak smile.

"She's got her mum. And I know, in some way, she'll know I was a good father to her." Neal said weakly to her.

"She needs you, Neal. I need you." Emma told him. "I can't lose you again."

"I'll watch over you, from somewhere." Neal whispered to her. Emma shook her head.

"I'm not losing you. Not again." Emma said with certainty. She whipped her head round to Gold, who had tears in his eyes. "There has to be something. Anything. Anything at all."

Gold looked at the desperate woman in front of him, holding his dying son in her arms. He looked into his eyes, seeing the they were almost out of life. He was barley hanging on. Gold thought back to every spell he had ever heard of, ever cast. Then one stood out in his mind. "There might be something."

"What?" Emma asked desperately.

"Its a spell. I've never cast it. But it might save him." Gold told her.

"No." Neal said weakly. Emma looked at him like he was crazy. "The price. There's always a price."

"Screw the price." Emma told him before turning back to Gold. "Cast it."

"If I do this, there is no going back. The price will be paid by someone." Gold warned her.

"I don't care. Just," Emma looked down at the man in her arms, seeing his eyes closed and her breathing almost nonexistent, "just save him. Please."

Gold took hold of his sons hand and closed his eyes. It was the same hand as the burn mark. Emma watched as a shadow of darkness surrounding Neal. The shadow started to travel from all round his body and into his hand. Gold took in a few deep breaths as he slowly removed his hands from Neal, holding a ball of shadow between his hands.

Emma watched with her eyes wide open. He heart was beating so fast in her chest it almost hurt, but she didn't care. All she cared about was saving Neal. She didn't care what the price was. She just wanted Neal alive. To try and be a family with him, Henry and Hope.

Gold slowly pulled his hands further apart, allowing the ball of shadow to float in bid air. Emma looked at the magic in front of her and all she could think of as she looked at it was: evil.

Suddenly the ball of shadow began to glow and spin. The before anyone could blink the shadow burst, causing Emma and Gold to cover their eyes. Emma leaned over Neal, almost trying to protect him. After a few seconds Emma and Gold looked up and saw the ball of shadow had disappeared. Emma looked round for it.

"Where'd it go?" Emma asked.

"To someone else that will take the price Bae had meant to." Gold answered. Emma's eyes widened.

"So, the price was someone's life?" Emma said with worry. Gold nodded.

"Someone, somewhere at some time, will be given the price." Gold explained.

"Who?" Emma asked.

"Anyone. Someone in this world. It will be anyone, no matter who they are." Gold told her. Part of Emma felt guilty about this. Someone she either knew or doesn't know is going to die because she chose to save Neal. But in this moment, she didn't care.

Emma looked down at Neal, seeing that he still had his eyes closed. Emma quickly began to worry. "Neal? Neal, open your eyes." Neal kept his eyes closed. Emma quickly leaned down, checking for any signs of life.

One second past. Then another. And another.

That's when Emma felt it. Neal's breath on her face. Emma let out a choke of happiness as she leaned in and hugged Neal to her chest. She looked over to Gold, who too looked worried. Emma gave him a nod with a smile in her face. Gold let out a sigh of relief. But that was quickly replaced with worry, and slight fear.

"Zelena, she's getting close." Gold warned Emma. Emma quickly began to worry.

"I need to tell Mary-Margret and David." Emma said as she looked round, trying to figure out what to do. She looked down at Neal, wondering how she was going to carry him. An idea then filled her head.

"Can you transport us to hospital?" Emma asked. Gold nodded. He then leaned over and placed a hand on Neal's hand.

"I'll be free soon, Bae. I promise." Gold whispered to him. Gold then leaned back and looked over to Emma. Emma gave him a nod. The last thing Emma saw was Gold waving his hand to them, when she suddenly found herself and Neal back at the hospital. Looking round she noticed it was the same room where she had see Neal again earlier that day. Neal was laying back in his original bed while Emma stood beside him.

Emma quickly took out her phone and dialled David's number. After a few seconds the phone was answered. "Emma?"

"David, are you with Mary Margret?" Emma asked worriedly.

"No, why what happened?" David asked, now sounding worried himself.

"You need to get home, she's with Zelena. She's the Wicked Witch. Zelena is the Wicked Witch." Emma repeated.

"She's with Snow now." David said with realisation.

"Get her out of the house. Me and Neal are at the hospital." Emma told him.

"We'll be there soon." David told her before hanging up. Emma took the phone away from her ear and placed it back in her pocket. She then took a seat next to Neal's bed on a chair. She looked down at his hand, the same one that had the mark burned into it. There was no nothing there. Hesitantly Emma took hold of it, giving it a slight squeeze.

As she held his hand her mind went back to everything that had happened between them. Everything that happened since she arrived in Storybrooke. Finding out Neal was Gold's son and from the Enchanted Forest. Then everything that happened between them on Neverland. Between her, Neal and Hook. She thought she had something for Hook, maybe there was some sort of feelings for him, but what she felt with Neal, that was different.

He was her first love. Her first everything. He was the first person that truly understood her, everything about her. Before finding out about her parents, she shared the same abandonment like he did with his father. They knew one another before they even actually knew anything about them.

And then, when she found out that he had taken in Hope. He was willing to take Henry to if he had the chance. She realised how much it must of killed him to leave her. The fact that he tried to get Hope to know Emma, even though she had never met her, made her hear swell. He wanted Hope to have a mother in her head, even if she never got the chance to meet Emma.

And when he was engaged to Tamara, he didn't force her to call Tamara mum if she didn't want to. He put her feeling first, making sure Hope was happy. And even though Hope didn't like Tamara, Neal made sure to let Hope know if she needed to talk to him about him marrying someone other than Emma.

Emma laughed a little at one of the happy memories she shares with Hope before Neverland. Remember how keen she was about breaking Neal and Tamara up.

_"If they break up then you and dad can get married instead."_

She remembered how her drink got splattered all over the table, how Hope laughed so hard she laid down on the booth. Emma's had gone quiet for a while after that, listening to Hope and all her stories with her dad, not mentioning any with Tamara in them.

She was so deep in thought she almost failed to hear the moan coming from the bed. Emma looked up and saw Neal's eyes slowly opening. Neal looked around for a moment.

"I'm not dead?" Neal said weakly, sounding shocked. Emma let out a little laugh.

"No, your not. You're okay." Emma told him as she stood up, placing a hand on his shoulder. Neal looked up at Emma.

"What happened?" He asked. Emma gave him a curious look.

"What's the last thing you remember?" She asked him.

"We were in the forest. You separated me and my father. I should be dead." Neal said with wonder. "Why aren't I?"

"Gold did a spell." Emma answered. Neal's eyes widened.

"What did he do?" He asked, sounding almost mad.

"He saved you life Neal." Emma told him.

"All magic comes with a price. There is always a price." Neal reminded her.

"Then we'll deal with it. Neal, I told him to do it. So no matter what the price is, you didn't cause it." Emma said with certainty.

"Why Emma? Why would you risk it?" Neal asked. Emma shook her head, looking at him like he was stupid.

"Why wouldn't I?" She said back at him.

Emma and Neal's eyes stared into one another, for a period of time they didn't count. All the feelings they were feeling in that moment filling their eyes. All their memories filling their head of the happy times they shared with one another. First shop they ever stole from. First time they broke into a place together. First time they held hands. First time they kissed.

"Emma!" The pair quickly leaned back and looked over to the door, seeing David, Mary Margret and Regina all rushing into the room. Emma climbed of the bed and walked over to them, Neal right behind her.

"Are you okay?" Emma asked as she looked at Mary Margret. She nodded.

"Yeah, we're fine." Mary Margret told her. Emma then looked over to Regina.

"What are you doing here?" Emma asked curiously.

"David called. Said the witch was at his house. I decided I wanted to have a talk with her about why she did this to us." Regina answered.

"Zelena was gone by the time we got to the house." David said with disappointment.

"We'll catch her. Don't worry." Emma told him.

"How's Hope?" Mary Margret asked.

"Still in surgery." Neal answered.

"Surgery?" Regina said with curiosity. Emma gave her a confused looked before realising Regina doesn't know what's happened with Hope.

"Hope has a brain tumour." Emma told her. Regina's eyes widened.

"A tumour? How?" Regina asked.

"Don't know. Dr Whale said removing it might cause her to lose some of her memories." Emma said quietly. Mary Margret looked devastated by this. She placed a comforting hand on Emma's shoulder.

"It's located in the memory part of her brain?" Regina asked. Emma nodded. Regina sighed. Neal noticed this.

"What?" Neal asked.

"I've heard in the past of Seer's dying from their powers. How all the memories of the future overtaking their brain. They go over their limit to see the future and they're killed by their power." Regina told them. Emma's eyes widened.

"So her powers did this to her?" Emma said in shock.

"I think its a mixture of her powers, the memories I gave her, her old ones. Everything memory she's had and has seen is hurting her brain." Regina explained. Neal's faced darkened.

"Did you know this could happen, when you gave her new memories?" Neal asked in a serious tone. Regina shook her head.

"No, like I said I've only even heard rumours of it. And with Hope only just learning about her powers I didn't think they would hurt her. Besides they were going to a place without magic. I didn't think her powers would affect her anymore." Regina said defensively. Neal ran a hand through his hair.

He took a step back and turned away from the group. Emma looked at him worryingly a placed a hand on his shoulder. "She's going to be fine."

"How do you know that?" Neal snapped as he turned back around. "How do you know she's going to pull through. For all we know she could come out of that surgery and not know who we are."

"Then we will work with it Neal." Emma told him. "Or we'll find a way to get her memories back."

"With magic? Magic is what hurt her. It's what has hurt my family my whole life! It why my father abandoned me!" Neal yelled.

"Magic saved you life today Neal!" Emma yelled back at him as she pointed a finger at him.

"Okay enough yelling!" Regina yelled at the pair. The 2 angered parents turned and looked at Regina. "What does she mean it saved your life today?"

"We found Gold." Emma said quietly.

"Really?" David said.

"Where was he?" Regina asked. Emma looked over to Neal, who had his arms crossed.

"He was inside me." Neal answered. Everyone looked at Neal with confusion.

"What do you mean he was inside you?" Mary Margret asked.

"Back in the Enchanted Forest I brought my father back using a key to open a vault. A vault to the Dark Ones. The price for bringing him back was my life." Neal explained.

"Then how are you here?" David asked.

"Gold merged himself with Neal to keep him alive, but it wasn't working. They were both in pain. So Neal asked me to separate them." Emma told the group.

"Then how is Neal still alive if you separated them?" Regain asked with curiosity.

"Gold was able to cast a spell. The prices was no longer Neal's to burden." Emma answered. Neal then realised.

"So someone else is going to die for what I did?" Neal asked. Emma step forward to Neal.

"Neal-"

"No Emma." Neal quickly stepped back. "I was ready to go. To die if it meant that you, Hope and Henry were going to be safe. But now another innocent person is going to die."

"But it might not be a innocent Neal. We don't know who its going to be." Emma told him.

"That's not the point Emma, the point is this price was meant to be mine to take. Not anyone else!" Neal yelled at her. Emma felt tears start to form in her eyes. "Why would you do this Emma?"

"Because I love you damn it!" Emma yelled back. Neal stared at her while Emma suddenly realised what she had just said. The last time either of them had said they loved each other was when Neal was hanging from Emma's hand over the green portal. Emma kept her mouth open, trying to find the words to say next, but couldn't find any. Neal stared at Emma, unable to decide what he should do next. Mary Margret, David and Regina all stood in their spots, not sure if either of them should speak up.

The sound of the door opening caused everyone to look behind them. Dr Whale stood there in surgical scrubs and a hat in his hand. Emma and Neal where the first to move towards the Doctor.

"Everything went fine. We got it all." Emma let out a sigh of relief as she ran a hand over her hair. Neal ran a hand over his mouth, his eyes closed. "She's on a ventilator at the moment but she should be of that once she wakes up."

"How long will that be?" Emma asked.

"We don't know. Everyone's recovery time is different. You can see her if you want." Dr Whale told them.

Everyone began to follow Dr Whale down the hallway towards Hope's room. Once they came to a door, Dr Whale turned to them. "She's in here."

Neal was the first to move into the room. He slowed down when he saw the sight of his little girl. There were wires going into her arms, most likely fluid and morphine for the pain when she wakes up. There was a large tube going into her mouth, the tube that was breathing for her. There was a sort of hat over her head, covering her hair and small tubes going into the back of it. Most likely something to help her brain heal.

Neal took a seat next to her on a chair and took her hand into his own, giving it a small kiss. Emma sat opposite Neal, doing the same as his. Mary Margret and David took a seat next to Emma while Regina kept standing.

"I'm gonna head back to the office." Regina told the group. "I'm going to see if I can find out what this Witch is up to."

"Be careful, Regina." Mary Margret warned her.

"Don't worry. I'm sure I can handle her." Regina said as she walked out of the room. Everyone stayed this way for a few hours. Emma would keep on looking up at Neal, but he wouldn't look back at her. Whether its because he couldn't see her or because he was choosing to ignore her, she didn't know.

Everything was so quiet in the room that everyone jumped at the sound of a phone ringing. Emma took the phone out of her pocket and looked down. "It's Henry. Crap I forgot I left him with Leroy."

"Do you want me and David to grab him?" Mary Margret offered.

"You wouldn't mind?" Emma asked, sounding a little unsure.

"Course not. We'll bring him here, if that's what you want." David suggested. Emma looked down at Hope and then over to Neal, who wore no emotion on his face at that moment. Emma nodded.

"Yeah, if he asks just tell him Hope is here because of her headaches. Don't tell him about the surgery." Emma told them.

"Sure. We'll be back soon." David said as he and Mary Margret stood up. Once they were out the door Emma immediately felt awkward now that it was just her and Neal in the room. Emma took a few moments, trying to figure out what to say to him. She was almost scared of what she would say in case it would just upset him more.

As Emma opened her mouth to talk Neal quickly spoke first. "Please don't, Emma." He said softly. Emma closed her mouth as Neal turned to her. "I really don't want to talk about this right now. Can was just save it for later?"

Emma felt her heart almost sink. She didn't realise the impact of her actions to keep him alive would affect him this much. But their way, she didn't regret it. Emma nodded. "Okay." She said back.

Neal let out a little sigh as he leaned back in his chair. "What are you going to tell Henry?"

Emma thought for a few moments. "I'll tell him the truth about Hope. Her having a tumour."

"And me?" Neal asked.

"Are you willing to Henry's dad, even with him having no memories of you?" Emma asked him.

"You know I am, Emma." Neal told her. Emma thought for a few moments, trying to get a story in place.

"Henry thinks I'm here working a case. I came here to help you out cause some bad people are trying to hurt you. We know who they are and you're trying to help us catch them." Emma said as she looked over to Neal. "Think you can lie about that?"

Neal nodded. "Yeah, its not that far from the truth."

"Any questions we can't answer we just tell him we can't say for confidential reasons." Emma continued.

"Seems easy enough-" Neal was quickly cut of as he looked down at his hand. Neal quickly leaned forward.

"Neal?" Emma said, worryingly.

"I-I think she just squeezed my hand." Neal said as he looked down at his hand as he held onto Hope. "Hope?"

Emma leaned forwards. "Hope, baby can you hear us?" Emma gasped slightly. "I felt her squeeze."

Neal quickly grabbed hold of the call button next to Hope's bed and pressed it. Not even a minuet later Dr Whale and a few nurses came in. "She's squeezing our hands." Neal told him.

Dr Whale moved over to Hope's bed and began to check her vitals. He then took hold of one of her hands. "Hope, if you can hear me please squeeze my hand with your left." Hope's hand squeeze. "Good. Now do you think you can open your eyes for me?"

Everyone watched with nerves as Hope's eyelids slowly began to open. Emma and Neal both gave Hope a warm smile. Hope's eyes looked between them and everyone in the room, looking almost confused. Suddenly her body jerked a little as she let out a small cough. "She's breathing over the tube. Someone turn the ventilator off."

"What's going on?" Neal asked, worriedly. He moved away from Hope and over to the other side next to Emma. Dr Whale turned to him.

"Don't worry its good. Hope's able to breath without the tube." Dr Whale told him as he turned back to Hope. He placed his hand on the top of the tube and took of the top part, the long tube, placing it to the side. He then placed a hand on the tube at the opening of her mouth and slowly began to pull. Hope gagged a little as the tube began to come out. Once it was out Hope let out some small coughs. "Hope, I need to you to take some small breaths for me. Try not to move to much."

Hope took in those small breaths, her eyes focused on Dr Whale. "Okay, I'm going to ask you some questions. If you don't know that answer that's fine, don's panic. What's your name?"

"Hope." She answered.

"Do you know where you are?"

"Am I at the hospital?" Hope asked. Dr Whale nodded.

"Yes, do you know why your here?" Hope shook her head. Dr Whale looked over to Emma and Neal, who both looked a little worried. He looked back over to Hope. He then pointed to the pair.

"Do you know who these people are?" He asked. Hope looked over to her parents.

"Mum." She answered. Emma smiled and gave her daughter a kiss on the hand. Hope then turned to Neal, who was looking nervous.

"Dad." Neal couldn't help the large smile that formed on his face. Emma looked shocked at this, but happy for Neal. Neal moved past Emma and gave his daughter a kiss on the forehead.

"Hi, kiddo." Neal said to her. Hope looked at everyone in the room confused.

"What happened?" Hope asked.

"You had a brain tumour." Neal told her.

"A tumour? Isn't that like one of those lumps people have in their brain?" Hope asked. Emma and Neal both shared a small smile at their daughter repeating what she had said earlier that day.

"But they got it all out. There's no tumour in your head anymore." Emma told her. Hope smiled.

"So I'm going to be okay?" Hope asked. Neal nodded as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"You're going to be fine." Neal said as he placed another kiss on her forehead.

"When can I eat? I'm hungry." Hope said as she placed a hand on her stomach. The trio in the room laughed.

"Let asked Dr Whale shall we?" Emma said as she turned to the doctor.

"We'll need to run some tests first. Make sure everything is in working order. If everything seems to be okay, I don't see why she can't have anything solid today." Dr Whale answered.

"What would you like?" Neal asked.

"Can you get Tamara to grab a burger from that diner? Actually can one of you grab it? I trust you more than her." Hope told them. Emma and Neal's face suddenly fell into shock. "Sorry dad, I know you don't like me talking bad about her." Hope looked up and saw the shock on their faces. "What?

**XxxxxxxX**

"It seems she can't remember anything past the point of Tamara coming to Storybrooke." Dr Whale told Emma and Neal, who were both standing outside their daughter's hospital room.

"So Neverland, the year she spent with me. Its just gone?" Emma asked sounding bewildered.

"I'm afraid so. But look, she still know's who you both are. She's still has all her memories since before Storybrooke, and some of her being here." Dr Whale pointed out.

"Is there any chance of her getting her memories back?" Neal asked.

"There's the chance yes. But I can't give you a straight answer. We'll just have to wait and see." Dr Whale answered. Neal looked over to Emma, who was looking a little upset. "For now, lets just play it by here and see what happens. I'll let you both have some times with her. I'll come back later to run those tests."

As Dr Whale walked of Neal turned to Emma, watching as she passed back and forth. "She doesn't remember any of the time we spent together in New York. Or anything we did together in Storybrooke."

"Emma-" Neal tried to cut in but Emma stopped him.

"She doesn't know me, Neal. She doesn't remember anything we did together. Nothing. I'm a stranger to her, Neal." Emma belted out to him, trying her best not to lose herself to a panic attack.

"But she does, Emma. She called you mum." Neal pointed out. "Yes, she may not have all her memories of you, but she has the memories that know that you are her mum. She has the memories of you keeping her calm when Hook stabbed by dad. The memories of you to on the Jolly Roger. The memories of you both in Storybrooke bonding over burgers at Granny's. She remembers all of that."

"Is that enough though?" Emma asked, sounding worried.

"Its a start." Neal told her. Emma looked into the room, seeing Hope laying on the bed with her eyes looking out the window.

"Do we tell her?" Emma questioned. Neal also looked into the room.

"I think she would want us to." Neal said.

**XxxxxxxxxX**

"So I went to Neverland? Through a portal on a pirate ship?" Hope said sounding amazed.

"You sure did, kiddo." Neal told her. He and Emma sat on the edge of the bed facing Hope.

"But why couldn't it of been another place, like where your from? Neverland sucks." Hope said as she crossed her arms. Emma smiled.

"You said the exact same thing last time. You told me how Peter Pan was you least favourite story growing up." Emma told her. Hope smile grew.

"I remember that. We were having burgers at granny's." Hope said with a smile. Emma felt herself grow warm at the thought her daughter still had some of those memories. Hope then turned to her father.

"So Tamara is really gone?" Hope asked. Neal nodded.

"Yeah she's gone." Neal told her as he placed a hand on her leg.

"Is it bad that I'm happy she's gone? I really didn't like her." Hope said, not sure if she should be saying those words. Neal nodded.

"Its okay to feel like that. I'm not made." Neal told her.

"So if she's gone does that mean you and mum are going to get married?" Hope asked. Emma's eyes widened while Neal choked on some air as he breathed in. Emma when red in the face and buried her head in her hands. Neal stuttered as he tried to come up with a answer to that.

A knock at the door saved them both from that awkward moment. The parents turned around and saw Mary Margret at the door. Emma looked over to Neal and gave him a small nod. Neal nodded back.

Their plan was to tell Hope to try and get her to not tell Henry anything about them being in Storybrooke before. To go along with anything their they or Henry say. They knew this was going to be complicated for Hope so they decided that Neal should talk to Hope once more before Henry came in and Emma would talk to Henry.

Emma stood up and walked over to Mary Margret. "Did you grab him?"

"Yeah, he was fine. Had fun with Leroy." Mary Margret told her.

"Leroy and fun in the same sentence? Miracles can happen." Emma joked. Mary Margret laughed as well.

"How's Hope?" She asked as he laughter died down. Emma nodded.

"She's okay. Unfortunately she's forgotten a lot of what happened just after she and Neal came to Storybrooke. But, we're hoping for her memory to return." Emma explained. Mary Margret gave her a sad look.

"Oh Emma," She said sadly.

"Its okay. She still remembers me, that's the important thing." Emma told her. "Where's Henry?"

"With David. Come on." Mary Margret lead Emma down the corridor when David and Henry were sat talking on a bench.

"Hey kid. Have fun?" Emma asked. Henry looked up at her and smiled.

"It was awesome. "We should take more fishing trips when we get back home." Henry told her. Emma looked over to David and Mary Margret, who both nodded to her and began to walk away.

"Sounds like a good idea." She told him. "Listen, I need to tell you something."

"Okay.." Henry said, wondering what she was going to say.

"You were right. I was not completely honest with you about why I cam here. About this case, this... trip." Emma began. "The reason I brought us all here was because someone was in trouble, and the person who needed help was not a client. It was you father."

Henry felt shock run through him. He didn't know whether to feel angry, happy, nervous. "This is about, my dad?"

"Some bad people wanted to hurt him." Emma explained.

"Is he okay? Did you find him?" Henry asked, almost sounding worried. Emma nodded.

"I found him. He was hurt a little, but he's okay now." Emma told him.

"Is that why we're here? To see him?" Emma shook her head.

"No, the reason we're here is because of your sister." Emma answered.

"Hope? Is she okay?" Henry asked, really worried now. Emma nodded.

"You know about how she would get headaches and nose bleeds?" Henry nodded. "That's because she had a brain tumour."

"A-A brain tumour?" Henry repeated.

"She had surgery and the doctors got it all." Emma told him.

"So she's okay now?" Henry asked. Emma bit her lip a little.

"Her memory is a little off. There are some things she doesn't remember, but there's a chance it will come back." Emma explained.

"Does she remember me?" Henry asked. Emma nodded.

"Of course she does. She was asking for you earlier." Emma told him. Henry smiled.

"Is my father here too?" Henry wondered. Emma nodded.

"Yeah, he was actually here when Hope was brought in. He know's about you and Hope. And he very much wants to meet you." Emma said as she brushed some hair out of his face. Henry gave her a nervous look.

"He wants to meet me?" Henry repeated.

"Yes he does. But if you don't want to see him then that is fine." Emma assured him.

"I'd like to meet him, if that okay." Henry said shyly. Emma smiled.

"Want to see him now? He's with your sister." Henry nodded.

The pair stood up and made their way over to Hope's room. As they approached the room they saw Hope with a padlock and lock pick in her hand trying to open the padlock. The padlock was opened fairly quickly. Hope threw a hand up in the air while Neal laughed.

"Good job." Neal told her. Hope shrugged.

"What can I say, I learned from the best." Hope said. Neal smiled.

"That's right you did." Neal replied. Emma cleared her throat causing Neal and Hope to look over to the mother and son. Hope smiled.

"Hey Henry." She said with happiness.

"Hi." Henry replied.

"I got the padlock up. Apparently I couldn't open it before." Hope said as she looked at the lock.

"Wanna show me how you opened it?" Emma asked. Hope nodded. Emma lead Henry into the room. Emma went and stood by Hope's bedside while Henry walked over to his dad. Emma and Hope were in their own little world as Henry approached the man that left his mother pregnant in prison.

"Hi." Neal greeted.

"Hi." Henry said back as she shuffled on his feet. "So, your my dad."

Neal nodded. "I'm Neal."

"Henry." Henry replied.

"It's nice to meet you Henry. Sorry it took so long to find you." Neal apologised.

"It's okay. You were in trouble." Henry pointed out. "Are you okay now?" Neal nodded.

"Yeah. I'm going to be helping your mum catching these people." Neal told him. Henry nodded.

"Are you going to leave when they are caught?" Henry asked. Neal almost felt his heart break at this.

"No. I'm not going anywhere." Neal told him.

"You promise you're going to stay?" Henry said, wanting to know the truth.

"I promise, Henry." Neal promised him. Henry nodded, feeling a little better with that. Neal looked over to Hope and Emma before looking back to Henry. "I've been teaching your sister how to pick locks. You wanna give it a try?" Henry gave him a small smile before nodded. Neal smiled at him and gestured him to come over.

Hope passed the padlock and lock picks over to Neal, who happily took them and began to show Henry what to do. Emma watch the scene in front of her. Of her daughter laughing at Henry's failed attempt. And her son's laughing frustration. And Neal, who seemed really happy at that moment. And for her, she was happy too.

Neal looked over to her and gave her a small smile, which she returned. She knew they were going to have to talk at some point about what happened. About finding Zelena. And getting Gold back. But that could all wait. For now, she can be with her family.

She can be normal. Happy.


End file.
